Crutches, utilized by persons having leg or foot impairment, have been traditionally made of bent wood or more recently, of light weight, high strength, bent metal tubing. These crutches have generally been comprised of various interfitted components which are fixedly connected with one another to achieve a degree of rigidity and stability required in supporting the user's weight in motion, and at various angles of use during such motion. The rigid connections have usually been effected by bolts with wing nuts, for adjustability, or with non-adjustable rivets. In most of such crutches the user's weight is transferred from the initial supporting body, situated at the user's underarms, to a separate adjustable or telescoping supporting leg. The entire weight is thus placed on the bolts which provide the interconnection between the supporting body and the supporting leg.
A typical crutch (both wooden and metal tubular) comprises four separate elements in the construction of the weight supporting body. These elements include two lateral bent members (crutch bows) and a straight crutch leg which is sandwiched between them. The upper ends of the lateral bent members are fitted into recesses within an underarm rest to complete the body construction. A hand grip or support is adjustably connected to the lateral bent members to complete the crutch structure. Most of such hand grips are comprised of solid members with cores through which a bolt and wing nut connection is effected. With such bolt and wing connection, the hand grips are horizontally placed with respect to the lateral bent members for a direct straight gripping parallel to the ground. Only height adjustments are possible with the commonly utilized hand grips.